Thursday 11 November 2010

H is for Heroes

I am sorry but I am being greedy here and having 2 entries to Alphabet Thursday. But it struck me a while ago as I watched the news that today is 11th day of the11th Month at 11am . A timefor us to stop and remember .
I wear my poppy with pride.


This to me is a small thing to wear at this time of November.


In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.



We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.



Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.



The poppy is a small remnder of the huge sacrifice that men and women have made in wars.
395,000 - Lost their lives during the Second World War



721 - Lost their lives during the Northern Ireland Troubles 1969 - Present



237 - Lost their lives during the Falklands Conflict - 1982



45 - Lost their lives during The Gulf War 1991



237 - Lost their lives during Afghanistan



179 - Lost their lives during Iraq 2003 - 2009

Not to mention all the rest from other nations .

The Ode


They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.


The Ode comes from For the Fallen, a poem by the English poet and writer Laurence Binyon and was published in London in The Winnowing Fan: Poems of the Great War in 1914. This verse, which became the Ode for the Returned and Services League, has been used in association with commemoration services in Australia since 1921.

Let us tht have not livd through war remember what it must have been like for thse that did, and for those today.


Alphabet Thursday can be fond here please pop  in.






12 comments:

Volie2 said...

Thank you for the lovely post. However, haven't you forgotten the 450+ that died in the Cyprus debacle and the hundreds of others in the Suez Canal Zone and the subsequent Suez Canal adventure? One can see why these, amongst others, are known as the 'forgotten wars' by those who served in them.

mle said...

Thanks for your poignant post!
Sacrifice should always be honored!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely tribute Tracy...very touching.

Susan Anderson said...

Beautiful. We seem to be on the same wavelength with our posts today, but I have loved seeing the whole thing from a different perspective.

I wasn't even aware of the 11/11 date, and I should be. Allies need to honor each other. (I AM aware of the poem and have always been moved by it.)

=)

Diana said...

A lovely post and tribute to all of our fallen and still serving heroes

Diana

Unknown said...

Thanks the reminder of the meaning behind this day!

Pondside said...

Today at our service in the small town at the end of our road the entire crowd gathered and read both those pieces of writing. There wouldn't have been a person there, over the age of eight, who couldn't have recited In Flanders Fields by heart.

JJ said...

Thank you!!!

H said...

A very appropriate posy Tracy. I'm doing my Armistice Day post on Sunday. (I'm even quoting the same ode :) )

Amanda Lee said...

We both did poppy posts on November 11th. It is on these days, when countries world over are remembering, that we feel such a strong bond with our neighbors united in honoring great sacrifice.

Jenny said...

Tracy, so eloquent and touching a post on a day of remembrance and honor.

That poem is one of my all time favorites and I was honored to read it here on your link to Alphabe-Thursday.

God Bless those who serve.

Thank you for linking.

A+

Judie said...

I have always loved that poem. All I can say to you is "Thank you."